I spent the past two days in Los Angeles at the JW Marriott L.A. Live for a Marriott Rewards Loyalty Forum.
The most valuable piece of information I learned for readers happened in the first ten minutes of the initial meeting Wednesday evening at the pre-dinner reception in WP24 at the Ritz-Carlton L.A. Live. Thom Kozik, Marriott VP, Loyalty mentioned New Music Fridays to me.
I’d never heard of New Music Fridays. Turns out Marriott Rewards and Universal Music Group established a partnership last June 2015.
Marriott Rewards New Music Fridays offers members 10 Free Song Downloads from UMG catalog
On October 1, 2015, New Music Fridays was revealed on the Marriott Rewards Insiders forum announcing the opportunity to download free songs from the Universal Music Group catalog. That Marriott Rewards Insiders thread has only had 730 views since October 1. The only three thread comments are complaints about having to link Facebook and Marriott Rewards accounts to access the free downloads.
Marriott Rewards Insiders – Points for your travel. Music for the journey. (Oct 1, 2015).
UMG catalog includes thousands of songs, past and present, in many genres.
At first I thought the only song download choices were those shown on the New Music Fridays homepage.
Then I noticed the Genres tab at top of page where you can access the immense UMG catalog of songs.
Please Rock Me
I clicked on rock and an alphabet selection appeared to pinpoint my favorite musicians.
I selected R and found a list of several hundred names from R.E.M. to Ramones to Rolling Stones to Ryan Adams.
Click on Rolling Stones and dozens of albums appear on the page.
Click on the album to reveal the downloadable track selections.
After spending this morning registering for New Music Fridays, checking out the Universal Music Group catalog of songs and downloading my ten free songs, I see this partnership with Universal Music Group as a good deal for Marriott Rewards members. This deal provides consumer value to members simply by being a Marriott Rewards loyalty member.
My quick Google search and check of FlyerTalk did not reveal to me any discussion in blogs about Marriott Rewards New Music Fridays free UMG downloads. This benefit seems to have slipped under the blogger radar.
I am always concerned when hotel loyalty executives want to discuss the future of loyalty programs moving beyond points! New Music Fridays is a case where I do find Marriott Rewards is rewarding members for loyalty in a way that goes beyond points and does not require you to be a big spender with elite status to access this benefit.
Marriott Rewards and Universal Music Group New Music Fridays T&C
One code worth 10 complimentary song downloads will be given away to the first 10,000 eligible Marriott Rewards members who sign in for the promotion. Code is case sensitive. Code expires: June 30, 2016. Music is not downloadable on iOS devices; please download on a desktop or laptop computer. No exchanges or returns. The number of song downloads available for each code may vary for each promotion. Offer open only to Marriott Rewards members who are legal residents of, and physically located within, the 50 U.S. (+ D.C.) and U.S. Territories. Existing Marriott Rewards members must link their Facebook log-in and Marriott Rewards account to be eligible for this offer. Offer is subject to complete Terms & Conditions. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.
No Secrets to Share, No Secrets Revealed in Forum
but I learned about New Music Fridays
There were several prominent bloggers in attendance at the two day Marriott Rewards Loyalty Forum like Daraius Dubash and Emily Jablon of Million Mile Secrets, Brian Kelley of The Points Guy, Chris McGinnis of Travel Skills. I can’t tell you how many times, but it was a lot, I heard Marriott people tell Sarah – Road Warriorette how happy they were to have a female blogger in attendance in a travel blog community dominated by men. Check out Sarah’s website re-design. Looks good.
There is not much to report from the actual Marriott Rewards forum meetings. Kind of like the Hilton meeting I attended in D.C. in December, these were hotel program managers and PR people in a small group trying to get the conversation started with bloggers and provide the opportunity for a face to face encounter with some of the people, like me, who spend our days discussing the delivery components of their jobs as hotel loyalty program providers. The planning for the future of hotel loyalty is happening now.
There was no discussion of SPG due to legal constraints prior to a shareholder’s vote, so nothing at all to divulge.
Unless you want to know how big the junior suite was at JW Marriott, L.A. Live? Answer: pretty damn big!
I’ll post a hotel review later.
My 13th floor corner room was one of those rooms somewhere on the photo left side.
Another perk of the trip was free admission to the Grammy Museum at L.A. Live yesterday afternoon. Loved the museum, but disappointed the new Bob Dylan exhibit does not open until Feb 29. I stood in a corner of the museum store by the escalator watching Bob Dylan 1960s concert film for 15 minutes in one of the displays I could see behind a pulled-back curtain.
Marriott and music made a quick mid-week trip to Los Angeles worthwhile.
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